How to protect yourself from Cybercrime?
This may not be something you think about a lot, but you should be. Did you know that by 2025, the expected cost of cybercrime is expected to be $10.5 trillion a year? Did you know that 95% of cyber breaches are the result of human error?
I am always looking for new ways to help protect my clients. As such I recently attended an exclusive webinar from Merrill Lynch on the subject of cybersecurity for affluent families. Here were the main takeaways from the cybersecurity expert:
10 ways to protect yourself from Cybercrime
- Don’t run your computer as an admin.
- Lower your computer privileges and use a Standard User, instead of the default Admin User, for everyday tasks such as browsing the internet and checking emails.
When your computer needs to install a new program, you will be prompted to enter an administrator password. This will slow you down and allow you to make the decision of whether or not you want the website/link you clicked on to make changes to your computer. This makes it harder for malware to take over your computer.
- Lower your computer privileges and use a Standard User, instead of the default Admin User, for everyday tasks such as browsing the internet and checking emails.
- Turn on multifactor authentication whenever possible.
- Face ID is one of the most secure authentications.
- Update your wireless router default user ID and default password.
- Make sure your router is always up to date.
- Purchase a credit bureau monitoring service.
- Choose one that costs money and provides comprehensive coverage.
- Make sure it has instant or real time monitoring.
- Increase your password complexity
- Don’t include a word that you could find in the dictionary!
- “Rainbow table” is a hacker’s way of scanning through each and every way to spell a word to find many different password configurations.
- You can use password generators to help you find random combinations of letters, numbers and characters.
- (Restaurant) QR codes can be altered
- Protect yourself from cybercrime and check to see if public QR codes are taped down and covered with clear plastic.
- You want to make sure the QR hasn’t been switched with a malicious QR code!
- This is true for all publicly listed QR codes. A malicious QR code can gain access to your phone and its contents, even without your knowledge.
- Do not plug your phone into a native USB port!
- Don’t use any publicly available USB ports.
- USB cables not only transfer charge, but also transfer high speed data. The minute you plug into a native USB port, your device content can be downloaded to whomever owns that USB port.
- Use your own power cube.
- Zelle is more secure than Venmo
- Venmo requires you to enter your bank account info, whereas Zelle is built by banks and connected to your account.
- Keeping your Credit Card safe
- Set alerts for all transactions to protect yourself from cybercrime.
- Watch your bank account for microdeposits, they can go undetected for long periods of time.
- Hackers could be sending microdeposits and trying to get verification of your account.
- Watch for skimming devices on ATMS and in other places. Confirm that whatever you put your card into is securely attached and part of the original machine.
- Verify wiring instructions. Check, check, double check.
- Wiring instructions should arrive only in encrypted e-mail.
- You must always call the title company or escrow company at the publicly listed phone number for the company (not the one provided in the e-mail with the wiring instructions), to confirm any e-mailed wiring instructions. Even though wired via encrypted e-mail.
- Consider wiring $1 first before wiring the full amount.
Do these things! Protect yourself from cybercrime.
Don’t think this won’t happen to you. Protect yourself from cybercrime by implementing these precautions. It pays to be extremely careful with your phone, your computer, your online accounts and any wires you plan to make. For more tips from Merrill Lynch, click here.
Cybercrime and Wiring fraud are real.
You don’t want to become the example that gets shared at the local real estate office as a cautionary tale…